The Daily Worker Newspaper, December 13, 1924, Page 6

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Avie |Lore and the Comintern Second Article. The Levi Case.—“Volkszeitung” in sympathy with Levi.—Comrade Lore and the Russian Discussion, AUL LEVI was a leading figure in the United German Commu- nist Party. Paul Levi did not stand the test of Communist discipline. Paul Levi stabbed his party in the back in one of the most crucial mo- ments of its history. And, Paul Levi Was persona grata on the pages of the “Volkszeitung” both before and after he committed his act of treason against the German Communist Par- ty. At one time it looked as if Paul Levi was the greatest authority on Communism and Communist tactics for the leading spirits of the “Volks- zeitung.”” When Comrade Lore wish- ed to find corroboration for his opin- ion on Serrati’s refusal to comply with the decisions of the Comintern, he found no better authority than Paul Levi. When the crisis within the German Communist Party broke while considering. The German Com- aunist Party at that time led an “ille. al” existence. Raids and arrests o! ‘communists were rampant.all. over he country. Thousands of revolu- ionists were facing court martial. fhe brochure went to print on April 3, when the fight in many places was ‘til going on. It was sent to print without the knowledge of the central committee of which Levi was a mem- ber. And it was published in spite of the fact that the enlarged execu- tive committee had, by a majority of 44 to 5, rejected the resolution em- bodying the views of Levi's group. The German Communist Party could but expel Levi for such action which was more than a breach of discipline, which brought confusion and created a crisis in the German Communist Party at a most dangerous moment. The central committee excluded him from its own midst and from the par- ty, as was stated in the resolution, for “crass breach of confidence and a grave injury to the party.” He executive committee of the C. I. took up the Levi case atits meet- is sheer nonsense . . . Levi is put- ting his criticism in a non-permis- sibte and injurious form. Levi who preaches to others cautious and cir- cumspect strategy throws himself into the fight (against his party) so prematurely, so unpreparedly, in such a_ nonsensical, wild fashion. é Levi acted as an ‘intellec- tual anarchist’ instead of acting like an organized member of the pro- letarian Communist International. Levi broke discipline.” ARLIER still, at the session of the Third Congress of the C. I., July 1, 1924, Lenin, discussing the March action and Levi’s attack, said: “It is important to have a critical attitude towards our errors. We have begun with that. If, however, after a fight in which hundreds of thousands par- ticipated, one attacks this fight and acts the way Levi acted, he must be excluded. And this we have done.” ADEK who severely criticised the position of the German Com- munist Party at the Third Congress of the C. L, had to say concerning Levi: THE LAST DEFENSE OF CAPITALISM By Moissaye J. Olgin action was insanely begun, no man knew what the fight was for.” “This action, this foolhardiness had to be stimulated, had to be enlarged. It was capable of enlargement. To the dead” in the Mannsfeld region and Ham- burg were added the dead in Halle. But they did not bring the neces- sary ‘mood.’ After the dead in Halle came the dead in Essen. But the ‘mood’ did mot arrive. After the dead in Essen came the dead in Mannheim, But there was no ‘mood’ as yet.” “We iwish our comrades ‘to have no-repentance for what they did. We would put only one pun- ishment, on them, namely, that they should never appear before the eyes of the German workers.” HIS and other excerpts were free- ly published in the “Volkszeitung”’ without a word of unfavorable com- ment as to the behavior of Paul Levi. On the contrary, the “‘Volkszeitung” continued to give Paul Levi full pub- licity «4 one of its favorites. On April 13, 1921, the “Vorwarts,” week- ly edition of the “Volkszeitung,” re- printed in full Levi's reply to the ac- out, the “Volkszeitung” was in open sympathy with Paul Levi against the German Communist Party and against the Communist International. important Case For Comintern. HE Levi case is still very fresh in the memory of all those who partici- pated in the life of the Comintern. In March, 1921, the famous March action of the German proletariat took place. The movement was a failure. Partial insurrections did not lead to a general revolt of the German masses. The white terror set in. The German bourgeoisie, aided by the German so- cial-democrats, filled the jails with Communists. Court martials were meting vengeance on the revolution- ary proletariat, At this time Paul Levi, a member of the executive com- mittee of the Communist Party and editor of one of its papers, publish- ed a brochure under the name “Our Way—Against Putschism,” which in scathing words accused the party and the Communist International of hav- ing wantonly provoked the March ac- tion without. any hope for suecess and with full knowledge that the action would bring only bloodshed and mi- sery to the German proletariat. Levi's Treason. HE circumstances under which this brochure was published are worth- Henderson ing of April 27, practically all mem- bers of the E, C. expressing a glow- ing indignation again Levi's bro- chure. The general opinion was that Levi became a traitor. In the name of the E. C., Zinoviev branded as an infamous lie the statement of Levi that the March action was initiated by the E. C. of the C. I. The reso- lution adopted at that session reads in part: The executive committee of the Communist International, hav- ing detailed knowledge of Paul Levi's brochure ‘Our Way—Against Putschism, approves of the action of the United. Communist Party of Germany in. excluding. Paul Levi from the party and thereby from the Cc. lL. Even if nine-tenths of Paul Levi's judgment of the March action were correct, he would have had to be expelled in this case for a mon- strous breach of discipline and be- cause Levi’s attack in the given situation represents a blow to the party from behind.” MONG those who signed the reso- lution was Lenin. In a letter to the German comrades published sub- sequently in the “Communist Interna- tional” for December, 1921, but writ- ten on August 14, 1921, Lenin, discuss- ing the character of and the lessons to be derived from the March action, says about Levi: Of course, Paul Levi's assertion that the action was a ‘putsch’ Vanderveide MacDonald Gompers “Levi's very behavior proved more than his argumentation the absence of any organic connec- tion between him and the party. It Proved that he was capable of throwing a bomb at the party at a moment when it was bleeding to death.” T is evident that whatever the opin- ion of the C. I. might have been concerning the revolutionary action of March, 1921, in Germany, it was unani- mous in considering Paul Levi's stand as..non-Communist. Paul Levi's at- titude had to be judged by. every Com- munist quite apart from .correctness or incorrectness of his view- on the March action. Paul Levi's action could ‘not have been tolerated in any revolu- tionary organization which meant ac- tion. Yet the “Volkszeitung” totally ignoring this side of Levi’s demon- stration and refusing to condemn Levi for his treacherous attack upon his party, gave full prominence to Levi's attacks on the C. P. and the interna- tional. N May 5, 1921, the “Volkszeitung” reprinted big excerpts from Levi's brochure. These excerpts con- tained such accusations as this: “It Is a total departure from the past that the Communists should work as somebody's errand hoys, that they should provoke massacre of their brothers, The March revolu- tion was “the greatest Bakunist putsch of history up to date. “The Kautsky Hilferding Adler cusation of the executive committee of the Comintern that he supported Serrati. On April 16, the “Vorwarts” gave a full page to a speech deliver- ed by Paul Levi in the German reich- stag. On May 10, the “Volkszeitung” reprinted the protest of several local Communist groups against the central committee of the German Party for temporarily suspending the members of the Levi group from participation in the reichstag faction. Levi Publicity No Accident. See favorable prominence given to Levi was by no means an accident, Tt was in full harmony with the “Volkszeitung’s” view on discipline in the C.I, This view was expressed as early as March, 1921, in an article by a German comrade published in the “Volkszeitung” and expressing the view that, bluntly speaking, “Moscow” should not “dictate” to other Commu- nist Parties the course of their action, The article, giving an account of a difference of opinion between some of the German comrades and the ‘exe- cutive committee of the C. L, says in part: “After the Russian P., the German C. P. is the &tro and most important in the ©. I. It’ tas made proposals as to the organization of relationships between ‘the individ. — ual C. P.’s and it was right in doing

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